Paul Holytrack
Paul Holytrack, a man held in the Emmons County jail at Williamsport, North Dakota, was taken from the jail in November 1897 by a mob of about 40 men, along with two other men held there. An 1897 account says the deputy sheriff, Tom Kelly, was forced to unlock the cells, and another 1897 report says the men were taken from the deputy's custody. The mob hanged him from a beef windlass near the town, according to those 1897 accounts. A 2021 report instead places the hanging at a meat rack outside the courthouse.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. Newspaper accounts say a mob forced deputies to unlock the Emmons County jail, took him out and hanged him from a beef windlass near Williamsport.
Reported by: newspaper accounts.
News reports (5)
- The Atlanta Constitution, November 15, 1897, page 5
- The Wilmington Daily Republican, November 15, 1897, page 1
- The Twice-A-Week Courier-Journal, November 17, 1897, page 1
- The Hartford Herald, November 17, 1897, page 3
- North Dakota's fraught history of lynching ranged from mocking ads to the front page of The New York Times